WASHINGTON (AP) – Mylan CEO Heather Bresch infuriated lawmakers as she tried – and mostly failed – to explain steep cost increases of her company’s life-saving EpiPens.
Outraged Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday grilled Bresch about the emergency allergy shot’s sky-high price and the profits for a company with sales in excess of $11 billion. The list price of EpiPens has grown to $608 for a two-pack, an increase of more than 500 percent since 2007.
In almost four hours of questioning, the soft-spoken CEO at times seemed unsure, or declined to answer directly, when asked questions about the company’s finances and profits, angering lawmakers.
“You could make this thing go away by being honest and candid but I don’t think you are,” House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, told Bresch as he ended the hearing. Afterward, he told reporters he thought she created more problems with her vague testimony.
The frustration was bipartisan. Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the oversight panel, compared Bresch’s answers to a game of “hide the ball.”